Poetry's impact on modern culture

By Donna Marbury
Staff Writer
Columbus Post

For many people in high school, April meant dusting off the English sonnets and couplets to appreciate National Poetry Month. Many dreaded the long discussions on language developed so long ago that it is no longer used in modern times.
As society changed, so did appreciation for the art of poetry. As Americans died in world wars, poetry was used to dispel the fantasy of war and describe the horrors that soldiers lived. When women, blacks and other groups began to fight for equal treatment, poetry became revolutionary. African Americans began to shine as masters of the language, ditching old English rhetoric and adopting the words of the ‘hood to explain their condition.
Many of those who yawned at the poems of Chaucer and Shakespeare, were energized when Nikki Giovanni, The Last Poets and Gil Scott Heron embraced everyday words and made them art.
Now as hip-hop dominates the mainstream, urban poetry can be heard in movies, music, theater and even commercials.
“Poetry is more popular now than it has ever been in all levels of society,” said Scott Woods, a poet and organizer of a open mike night every Wednesday at Skambo’s CafÈ at 31 E. Gay St. “My open mike night is incredibly diverse in terms of politics, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Now everybody and their mama got a poem in the bottom of their purse.”
Not only has poetry come alive in sound by itself, but the art form has fused with jazz, dance and theater. Every other month, the King Arts Complex hosts Poetic Fusion, where singers, musicians and wordsmiths unite and create. Anita Davis, the poet who hosts the event, says that the mixture of different art forms is a natural existence.
“All art comes from the soul, whether it’s spoken word, music or dance,” said Davis. “There’s no reason to have lines and separate them.”
Kiyanta Steward, whose piece “Sweet, Nice and Beautiful” mixes spoken words and sweet singing, says that poetry has always been like an instrument for her to express herself.
“I feel like poetry is my outlet to express everything; music, conversation...to do with anybody,” said Steward. She says that poets are like actors who are creative enough to speak through different voices. “I can be whoever I want to be in a poem. It’s my way to share emotion.”
Steward and singer Ms. Ida host the Nubian Soul Quest on Saturday, April 23 at 7 p.m. at the Rhythm & Blues Café at 4428 Walford St. Ms. Ida says that the night’s combination of poetry, live bands and singers are good for the ears and the soul.
“It’s like church without church,” she said. “The main idea was to have a place to go and do us. That’s real soul food.”

With the influx of so many varieties of modern poetry, the art form that was once underground is now all over media markets. The Last Poets are featured on rapper Common’s new single “The Corner.” Many a modern poet cut their teeth on the cool classic “Love Jones” featuring Larenz Tate. And a conversation about poetry wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the spoken work phenomenon “Def Poetry Jam” where underground elites take center stage. With all the commercial success, will poetry become overexposed to the masses?
“The fact that you see poetry in commercials and all over TV is just an indication of our media-based culture. So I don’t think we will ever get overexposed to poetry,” said Woods. “It definitely makes the job of people who work on the craft a little har er.”